An Idea.

[Kaikou]

This is just something I came up with while typing in another forum...

Make use of the vast world around the bases. 100% of the battles take place in/around the bases and it wastes all that open space out there. Make territories based on nodes or something that empires can claim on continents. It'd produce a "mini continent lock" where only a portion of the continent gets locked so other empires can't HART into those areas. That way there'd be a lot more areas for fights to take place other than in bases.

Get 100 or so nodes on each continent that you can claim (all in which would have their own lattice structure to them) and once you have a complete lattice (be it from one coast to another coast, a circular shape in the middle of nowhere, anything) then your empire locks that portion of the continent off. Each node could have a 5 minute hack timer, and possibly a small SOI that air and possibly ground vehicles can't enter, making it less easy for the attackers to simply drop a squad directly on top of the node and hack it or swarm 20 vanguards. There could even be a twist where each lattice node is connected to a base, and if your empire gains control of that base, all the nodes connected to it change to your empire. They are still hackable by other empires but it'd give you immediate ownership of them upon the base being taken.

Also, bases within the territory of one empire would not be hackable unless that territory was opened by taking some nodes to break their links. This would require people to move into the forests and such to take nodes before hitting the base itself. If a base is already hacked, and the opposing empire manages to get all of the nodes around the base under their control, putting the base into their territory, the hack would not be stopped, hence the bases would still be major targets.

There would be a ton of combinations to the lattice nodes because they'd all each be connected to say...10 other nodes. Depending on how much territory you'd own, you would get certain bonuses. Health, armor, stamina, maybe a somewhat weak (but still makes a difference) personal shield, similar to the implant, but of course not as effective as the implant.

I think that'd be a really good way to spread battles out over the entire continent and make use of all that space. It would also help with lag because zergs would HAVE to split up. As is there is usually ONE (maybe 2) targets at most at a time for a zerg to work with. With nodes it would increase vital targets to 10 or more, making one big clump of people useless.

What do you think?

[Hayoo]

Nice ideas. I'm all for having troops spread out into the landscape a bit more. And I'm definately all for restricting those annoying backyard HART drops.

Spec Ops should be using current transports in sneaky ways than a quick plop, drop, and recall. From what I gather about your ideas, a team would have to go deep into enemy territory conventionally, and then capture a node or region to allow those HART drops to occur.

This kind of thing is what my Urban Areas/Tech Levels idea covers. Scattered about the continent at various locations along roads and bridges, in forests and passes are gatherings of 3-5 (one and two-story) buildings. 3 of the buildings have definte functions. I won't go into them all here because I don't want to hijack the thread, but I will mention the Admin building which acts like your Node. Whoever captures it controls or "dominates" the town and the immediate surrounding territory, allowing friendly HART pods to drop in it and for AMSs to recieve unlimited supplies. Capturing more mini-territories in the enemy's flank can disrupt their supply lines and lanes of access.

The ideas may be offereing different solutions but they are trying to achieve the same thing: establish front lines, force use of convential transport, and utilize the game terrain more (which is going to waste).

Oh, and here are some old old graphics I did last year that was following along the "nodes" idea until I thought up urban areas.

Concept Graphic #1
Concept Graphic #2

Thumbs up on the ideas, man.

[Scorched_earth]

gd idea! But it wont happen, knowing the devs! If it did would take em a few years

[ORANGE]

So like there would be an actual front line instead of just randomly running all over the place??

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Paintballboy

So like there would be an actual front line instead of just randomly running all over the place??

Bingo.

Deep down, I believe this is what everyone truly wants.

[Angel_of_Death]

Actually, there's a front line now, and if that idea were brought in to the game, it would be more little battles all over the place, the opposite of a front line.

I like the idea though, but I like the lattice is now. I like bigger battles (then again, the idea would also mean more teamwork).

[Warborn]

Originally Posted by Scorched_earth

gd idea! But it wont happen, knowing the devs! If it did would take em a few years

They were pretty quick about getting the ammo changes on Test. I dunno, after playing with them during the Beta I like to think the best about the devs. I really do think they're working at full speed trying to get things running better, and that's about all you can ask.

[UncleDynamite]

There was an idea like this a long time ago that was popularly called Realm of Influence (ROI). Basically, each base controlled a certain territory, so imagine a continent composed of many different, well, "states" for the lack of a better word. Basically, it was a way to create a frontline by awarding benefits (forgot what they were specifically) to soldiers fighting in territories adjacent to enemy territories. There were also supply depots and outposts spread around in order to get more people to use the vast environment outside bases.

Anyway, I think this idea is great. The "Mini-Continent Locks" is a superb idea, I would love to see it implemented. For one, it'll give the Galaxy the ability to drop soliders behind enemy lines where the HART could not. I agree with Angel that this would make a whole bunch of little fights, but I think that'll really enhance gameplay. For one, I think a lot of players would enjoy not having to join zergs all the time, and it'll also open up more opportunities for tactics: you'll have several squads and platoons fighting out over a string of important targets, and if one of the platoon leads broadcasts for reinforcements, it'll actually mean something. While it's pretty much impossible to turn back a zerg, smaller fights will open up opportunities where careful placement of troops can actually affect the outcome of a battle significantly.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Angel_of_Death

Actually, there's a front line now, and if that idea were brought in to the game, it would be more little battles all over the place, the opposite of a front line.

I like the idea though, but I like the lattice is now. I like bigger battles (then again, the idea would also mean more teamwork).

In my opinion, there are only front points at the moment. An actual front line is exactly as you describe: many battles, some small yes, but also big pushes against many points along general lines of advance. A front protects your rear, protects your supply lines, protects your support troops. We have no such thing. Sure you can drop a gen, but does that prevent the "frontline" base from spitting out weapons and equpiment. Nope. So much for outflanking lines of supply. What we have gentlemen is siege warfare, plain and simple. While this isn't all that bad, seeing as it concentrates a heck of a lot of defenders and attackers into one place, it is not the same as the mobile warfare we like to envision having with Planetside.

I remember hearing there were debates in Beta over Zones or Realms of Influence as opposed to a Lattice. After the game came out I heard these debates again for myself. Since that time I have come to the conclusion that we should have both. The lattice tells the zerg where to go and the tactical-minded players capture the territories to advance the battle line and outflank the enemy's supply lines. Who knows if something like this is possible today. But I know I would like it very much.

-------------------
Concept graphic - part of tech levels/urban areas idea. In this older image the regions are cirlces but I have since evolved it to more of a territorial area like what Kaikou describes. Each circle represents a node or urban area that controls a region. Capturing a region allows AMSs to have unlimited equipment. Stray out of that zone and you have a finite source that must be resupplied with NTU or run dry. To prevent ninja-hacks of territory, if the region is not adjacent to your own, you have to recapture it every 8 or 10 minutes or it returns to enemy control. Now if you add to that mini-locks to prevent HART drops...Presto! You have fronts with base sieges and also small to large fights all along a general battle line across the continent, maybe even fierce battles over that last patch of region connecting to your base that lets you have unlimited AMS supply beyond the walls. Sounds juicy to me.

[Kaikou]

I think the main thing this idea would fix would be the massive amounts of land out there that are NEVER used. Why make continents so big if we're only going to use 20 or so percent of it?

[Dharkbayne]

Originally Posted by Warborn

They were pretty quick about getting the ammo changes on Test. I dunno, after playing with them during the Beta I like to think the best about the devs. I really do think they're working at full speed trying to get things running better, and that's about all you can ask.

Don't worry about Scorched_earth , I'm pretty sure it's Porkfryer/EVILoHOMER/DaniFilth

[TheN00b]

Jeez, this idea is truly one of the best out there for the future of Planetside. One problem though. It's easy for all of you mildly bored 20/5's out there to propose a huge frontline, but wouldn't it be a lot harder to get exp? I'm BR14, and since I don't play a hell of a lot, it's already not too easy for me to advance in BR and CR. What'll happen when the battles are all spread out across the continent, rather than in larger zergs where I am ashamed to admit I get the majority of my exp ?

[Kaikou]

Well, bases would still be the main objective. They'd still have all of their bonuses and such. It would just add mini continent locks where factions can control areas that people can't HART into. They also can't hack bases within these territories until they either break the other faction's link to this territory, making it go neutral, or taking all of the nodes connected to it, taking control of it.

I'm gonna try and photoshop a picture of what I mean. So far some of the pictures posted are pretty close. The one up about 2 or 3 posts is really close, but instead of having a bunch of SOI, the nodes would make up a lattice that if connected, would lock all of the area contained within the nodes captured.

[Hamma]

I've always thought teritory should be claimable. Not sure why it never happened

[Rbstr]

We need something that forced battle out doors this node idea is ok, but i like the idea were the lattice is connected to simply little CC's that are outside and undefended(as in no walls/turrets), or even in bunker(no spawns near them!!) they are a part of the latice to they have to behacked before you can go on, posibly 2 to 5-7 depending on latice length, like on cyssor there would be alot more of these 'territory markers' between Itan and tore, say 7 or so.

But i think the hart fix should be different. Either the timer needs to be made much higher, a big restriction made on drop zones, like only in friendly SOI's or only near a CR placed beacon(he has to be ther to place the beacon, or the hart should be romoved all together. as it stand its sometime faster to racall and hart back than it is to drive place to place, thats not the way it should be